For the first season of "Lost" I was more than on board. I was loving it. I dug the unique narrative structure with the crisscrossing story lines, was invested in the characters and fawned over the production value. It was appointment television for me and my roommate Gareth. There were passionate discussions with friends at coffee shops about cryptic events and little clues in the show. I was a fan. But then, something happened. The second season fired up and "Lost" slowly but surely began to unspool. Tuning in every week began to be Chinese water torture for me. At first, the steady drip of water on the forehead was nothing to worry about, I just got a little wet, no big deal. But after three seasons of the drip constantly striking my brow during every episode, I was ready to go postal. I couldn't take it anymore. So, after much inward thought and reflection, I told "Lost," as my Granddad would say, to bugger off.
It's difficult to find good television in an era where D-List "celebrities" trying to ballroom dance is a bona fide hit. I only watch a handful of shows, I can count them on one hand. I can't handle the watered down, appeal-to-the-lowest-common-denominator formulaic garbage the networks churn out. Finding a show I can watch and not feel insulted is a bonus. "Lost" was a beacon on the dark landscape of modern TV.
But here is where the show went wrong; I believe "Lost" is like Manhattan below 14th Street. The workers were building furiously and as fast as possible without any kind of end game strategy. As a result, lower Manhattan is mess. Charming, yes, but still a mess. Streets are at odd angles, winding aimlessly, and with no real logic to them. I used to live on Waverly Place in Greenwich Village, without warning the street makes a freaking right turn and keeps going. No rhyme or reason. "Lost" is no different. The writers seem to have been sitting in a room shouting out ideas. "What if the fat guy used some cursed numbers to win the lottery?" "Brilliant, sounds good, write that episode." That thinking gave us polar bears on the island and a nutty French broad without a bra wandering around making booby traps.
The one that kills me is this; In the first episode, there was a seemingly huge monster that ripped the airline pilot out of a tree and killed him. Left him twenty-five feet in the air, dangling dead in another tree. Through four seasons, the beast has yet to be explained. FOUR SEASONS! No answer has been given to the nature of the monster in episode one. Locke getting his legs back, the afore mentioned polar bears and "cursed" numbers, Walt's possible telekinetic powers, and on and on, never answered. What's the deal with that smoke monster? Hell if I know, the producers would rather introduce new characters that nobody cares about to an already crowded cast. It was as if the show runners said, "Well, we thought a monster would be cool, but we couldn't think of any explanation. So we scrapped it and tried something else." I don't believe in storytelling Mulligans. You took the swing Mr. Abrams, you play the ball where she lies.
My frustration compounded every week. Any hint of storyline resolution was buried beneath two new questions. The producers introduced "The Others," I didn't care. They killed off Charlie and Mr. Eko, bad idea. The mysterious Dharma Initiative, completely boring. Will Kate choose Jack or Sawyer? I could not care less. In addition, I grew incredibly tired of knowing that how a character acted during the episode would be flipped at the end of the episode. Every damn time. I would watch the blonde "Other" helping Jack, knowing that in the final three minutes it would be revealed she was conning him. It was as reliable as a Swiss watch.
Watching the show felt like I was reading Lord of the Rings, but every time I put the bookmark in the spine and shut the book, another hundred pages grew at the end. It was never going to end. After every episode I was 20% entertained, 80% annoyed. The only reason I hung around as long as I did was I was what poker players refer to as "pot committed." Meaning I already had too much money on the table to fold after I thought my trips were no longer a winner. You're in too deep, you have to play it out.
No more. I'm done. I folded after the river card was dealt. I haven't watched one episode this season and haven't missed it one bit.
When the series finally wraps up, someone will tell me how Locke is no longer paralyzed and what the island really is. If it ends up being purgatory I'm going to vomit.
So long "Lost." Good riddance. Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.
But here is where the show went wrong; I believe "Lost" is like Manhattan below 14th Street. The workers were building furiously and as fast as possible without any kind of end game strategy. As a result, lower Manhattan is mess. Charming, yes, but still a mess. Streets are at odd angles, winding aimlessly, and with no real logic to them. I used to live on Waverly Place in Greenwich Village, without warning the street makes a freaking right turn and keeps going. No rhyme or reason. "Lost" is no different. The writers seem to have been sitting in a room shouting out ideas. "What if the fat guy used some cursed numbers to win the lottery?" "Brilliant, sounds good, write that episode." That thinking gave us polar bears on the island and a nutty French broad without a bra wandering around making booby traps.
The one that kills me is this; In the first episode, there was a seemingly huge monster that ripped the airline pilot out of a tree and killed him. Left him twenty-five feet in the air, dangling dead in another tree. Through four seasons, the beast has yet to be explained. FOUR SEASONS! No answer has been given to the nature of the monster in episode one. Locke getting his legs back, the afore mentioned polar bears and "cursed" numbers, Walt's possible telekinetic powers, and on and on, never answered. What's the deal with that smoke monster? Hell if I know, the producers would rather introduce new characters that nobody cares about to an already crowded cast. It was as if the show runners said, "Well, we thought a monster would be cool, but we couldn't think of any explanation. So we scrapped it and tried something else." I don't believe in storytelling Mulligans. You took the swing Mr. Abrams, you play the ball where she lies.
My frustration compounded every week. Any hint of storyline resolution was buried beneath two new questions. The producers introduced "The Others," I didn't care. They killed off Charlie and Mr. Eko, bad idea. The mysterious Dharma Initiative, completely boring. Will Kate choose Jack or Sawyer? I could not care less. In addition, I grew incredibly tired of knowing that how a character acted during the episode would be flipped at the end of the episode. Every damn time. I would watch the blonde "Other" helping Jack, knowing that in the final three minutes it would be revealed she was conning him. It was as reliable as a Swiss watch.
Watching the show felt like I was reading Lord of the Rings, but every time I put the bookmark in the spine and shut the book, another hundred pages grew at the end. It was never going to end. After every episode I was 20% entertained, 80% annoyed. The only reason I hung around as long as I did was I was what poker players refer to as "pot committed." Meaning I already had too much money on the table to fold after I thought my trips were no longer a winner. You're in too deep, you have to play it out.
No more. I'm done. I folded after the river card was dealt. I haven't watched one episode this season and haven't missed it one bit.
When the series finally wraps up, someone will tell me how Locke is no longer paralyzed and what the island really is. If it ends up being purgatory I'm going to vomit.
So long "Lost." Good riddance. Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.
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Oh great...my cousin is addicted to this show and has just convinced me, despite heavy doubts, to give it a try. Now I'm even less enthusiastic about struggling through 25 episodes of the first season.
I still watch it, but I am starting to get the same feeling you have... I want my pay off for sitting through two seasons straight.... back to back!! (I started at season 3) And i have not missed ONE episode since then, and don;t get me wrong, I do enjoy them. But like I said, all I want is my pay off, I want anwers!
everything u said that didnt have an answer was answered....
I'm not sure if this has more to do with the series' lack of direction or the writer's ADHD. I've watched the show since the beginning(and am getting a little tired of the impatience and whining of those who first watched seasons 1-3 on dvd all in one week, and then complain about actually having to wait for answers, heh)... and it's still as good as it ever was.
Actually, since they've announced that season six will be the end of the series, they've really kicked it into gear this season to get things wrapped up. There's some great comedy/tragedy there, what with Johnny giving up just as land is in sight.
But anyways, I just wonder, what do you people really, honestly expect from the show? I mean, you sat through three, four seasons and are you really still surprised that you're not getting any answers in the middle of the story? Isn't that like complaining that they won't tell you who Keyser Soze is before they've even mentioned his name, or that Luke and Leia are siblings before they've even made out?
I guess what I'm saying is... if you've sat through 60-80 odd hours of the show and still don't understand that the show is about questions and not answers(see Abram's mystery box speech from TED and he proves this)... then, sorry to say it, but you should probably go back to According to Jim.
Answers will come in time -- and you may not like them, but man, it certainly has been a hell of a ride; and when you think about how iffy serialized tv can be, I'm actually amazed it's still as coherent as it is, and am psyched that they finally have a finish line to do it right(if Alias had a finish line, it would have been the best show ever. Should have ended with season 3. Good to see Abrams and co. are learning from past mistakes, and Lost is getting great again because of it).
You're missing out. This season is amazing.
Hey Johnny, welcome to YBNBY.
I have to agree with monolith about waiting. I've watched every fucking episode since season 1 and wavered back and forth about being jerked around by the writers. But this season is awesome and we have been paid off to some degree on some of the story lines. So anyway, to all you folks jumping on in season 3:
So you have no frame of reference here. You're like a child who wanders into the middle of a movie and wants to know...
Monolith's response was funny. I particularly liked the According to Jim joke. Though I hardly consider 2 seasons from now "land ho," it was still funny.
And how can you not respect a guy who quotes Walter Sobchak. Nice.
But I still couldn't do it anymore.
Cheers.
This post had me at hello.
I think its finally comin together, but yeah, i can see how its easy to get lost around season two, but the last few episodes are really something special, and its bringing everything together
Do you watch every show expecting to know the outcome?
It's not the goal, it's the journey. If you'd stop thinking about the last episode of the series, then perhaps you'd actually be able to enjoy a show that is well-written, well-directed and well-acted.
But it's ok. The show will air through to its conclusion regardless if you're watching or not.
Thank God we don't have to listen to another person complaining about the show.
Everyone else was posting comments, so I thought I'd throw my two-cents in. You had a roommate named Gareth? I bet he enjoyed when you put his stapler in a vat of Jello.
monolith, will you be my YBNBY boyfriend? I've never heard the show explained/defended better than that. I am also sick of the people that have been 'forced' to watch all three seasons and are bitching about shit not getting answered. This is the best show. Ever. And probably will be for a long time.
I ususally compare it to Fight Club wherein knowing Ed Norton and Brad Pitt are one in the same in the beginning would make the whole concept moot. Lost is one of the first TV shows that makes us think and it pisses our instant gratification culture off. I look forward to each episode like a root canal but in the end it's always an enlightenment. I have a shit load of problems with the show like the next person, but it's about the content, not the plot, see the { } from 'How I'd change Television'.
Johnny, welcome to the place but this first post sucks...
Now the {Lost... the bane of my existence and the reason I have a pulse...
Firstly, 'the Island' should be called something a hellovalot more creative than the fucking Island, honestly, fucking writers, naming everything else something good but the goddamn focal point of the show just gets 'the Island'? Honestly...
Every goddamn time Locke says 'The Island' it should flash to a picture of a puppy so the audiences blood pressure will not escalate.
Whenever Jack says anything about 'doing it together' they should flash to Sawyer and Hurley getting it on.
Whenever Kate, or any of the fucking broads on that show says 'Jack' in a dramatic way, he should moon them.
Sawyer should be required to have his shirt off all the time, what the fuck does he need to wear one for anyway, his shirts are constantly getting ripped or wet of dirty, yes, very dirty, and he's gonna have to take 'em off anyway.
Hurley needs to lose some weight, really, how fat can you stay on that island? It's supposed to heal and shit, right?
Claire needs to stop fucking saying 'my baby'. I can no longer hear someone talking about their baby and saying 'my baby'without wincing on the inside.
Ben needs to do something about his fucking thyroid so his eyes will go maybe, I dunno, half way into his head. Really, again with the healing shit...
Move the Island? What in gods holy fuckness does that mean? I can't wait to see that shit explained... Physically? Emotionally? With a Michal Bolton song?
Fucking Echo's brother, we never got enough to explain that shit. He just pops up like a boner at a strip club all the time.
Shadow Monster? Can we talk about Shadow Monster? I feel bad for Shadow Monster, he should have gotten a much cooler name, like Black Cloud of Impending Doom and Mass Destruction. Fucking Shadow Monster... honestly, when it comes to naming shit the writers must have needed to poop or something so they got through that part quick.
How did any of the boat people survive Black Cloud of Impending Doom and Mass Destruction? BCOIDAMD (see even the acronym is cool, is says DAMD, how much more true can that be I ask of you?) was on a mission vengeance from Daddy Ben whom, I think, controls BCOIDAMD with his head all ESP style.
I swear to fucking god if they keep answering damn questions with questions I will have to keep watching the show which might be my demise when my head explodes, its a dichotomy of epic proportions. Brain matter will be lodged in odd places for miles around and children will be playing with it in their backyard.
I work in the woods in Sussex Co. I think I'm gonna go in early and try to find a bear cub to pick up and pet. At least that way I'll know what kinda hurt is coming at me and I can't watch tomorrows episode on account of deadness.}
The fact that this is so passionately discussed (one way or the other) is what got me to give it a go. My cousin is an absolute freak about the show and is practically wetting himself with excitement at the prospect of adding another fan to the fold. He also tells me that Season two is a little "meh" but sticking it out is way worth it. The show sounds pretty cool and I'm hoping it will serve as some sort of substitute for the story I feel I got cheated out of with Carnivale (which I frigging loved).
That much media ahead of me is pretty daunting, but doable. I'm trying to clear some of the lighter stuff on my queue before I dig into it though. Where did everybody come in on the series? I know I'm pretty late to the game but it always feels like everyone out there has been on board since episode one.
I watched the first season on DVD in one five night session. Really the best way to watch any series. You have a great viewing session ahead.
Hahah, okay. I feel bad about recommending According to Jim; I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy. I do understand that it's frustrating, and understand those who just can't do it anymore(for blood pressure reasons if for nothing else)... I just hate to see people jump ship when the show's getting great again, and now, finally, heading to an actual conclusion, not just a never-ending second act.
Again, definitely check out Abram's TED speech, where he brought out a magic mystery box that he's had since he was a little kid(you know, one of those magic shop mystery boxes full of magic tricks, but only has a question mark on the outside so you don't know what's inside)... and he's never opened it, because he realized even then that the "what if" will always be more spectacular than the "what is". The question is always bigger and more intriguing than the answer. I like that.
So that's the attitude I've decided to take with Lost as well. Yeah, it's frustrating more often than not, but... again, the answers will never be as big and fantastic as the possibilities, nor will they please everybody - if anybody - so the only logical conclusion, to me, is to just enjoy the ride. Once it's answered, the mystery is gone, and watching it all at once on dvd - where all the answers are just a few button pushes away - won't quite be the same...
Anyhoo, sure, if the writers give us some crap ending, I'll be the most furious of us all, heh, but, since I've invested this much time into their story, I think I can give them a couple more seasons... and from the past few episodes, I think they have a good idea about what they're doing.
So, yeah. People always complain that there's nothing good on tv. Then Lost comes along, with possibly the most intense - and definitely the most labyrinthine - plot imaginable(hell, I'm still amazed something like this even made it to pilot)... and now people argue that it's too intense, and too intricate; simultaneously complaining about wanting answers, but that there's no possible way those answers they want so badly will be satisfying anyway. "Dumb it down!" I just... think that's a bit hypocritical, is all.
Even if the finale(which is only about 32 episodes away) is absolutely horrible, it has still been a big step in the right direction. I mean, I've never had a tv show lead me to google about electromagnetic Casimir Effects and quantum entanglements before, heh. In fact... I don't think I'd googled any show about anything before. Hmm.
Okay, I'll shut up now. Or soon, heh. I just have to say that season 4 has been way better than season 3(I too felt season 3 was flapping about like a headless chicken that didn't know it was dead yet)... and I think the days of the endless 2nd act are over. Thankfully.
P.S. I think complaining about the introduction of the Others is similar to complaining about the introduction of Han and Chewie. "What happened to my biographical movie on moisture farmers? What's all this space crap?" Heh. They're all part of a larger story, and from what the writers have said, there's even more characters to the story that we've yet to meet, so, if it's any derivation from the cast from the first season that you hate, then... it's just going to get worse!
Monolith,
I have to respect that kind of well thought out view. It's one of the great things about pop culture, there rarely is a right or wrong. Agree with me, disagree, think I'm as near sighted as Mr. Magoo, as long as there is discussion and thought, that's all we want.
Thanks for taking the time to write. And ten points for a solid moisture farmer reference.
Seriously, the According to Jim joke was hilarious.
Johnny
Oh yeah, I did get a kick out of Jeni "Peas and Carrots" Gumps' impassioned diatribe where she listed how much she loves the show and makes my point of why the show is rubbish now at the same time.
That's not easy to do.
Johnny, I don't think the show is rubbish at all. I was explaining why I love it and the 'why I loves it's' are not the same as the 'why I hates it's'. The 'hates it's' are about the minutia, not the plot or the has been/will go of it.
The season finale was incredible... I wonder what would have happened to Sawyer if he was standing on the sand just waist deep off shore though... and what has happened to all of the marine life/coral/other island/the birds that were in flight/someone who was jumping at the time, ya know...
Also, since The Island, in future backs, appears to be impossible to find, how will Dharma find it to drop the food and supplies off? It's not like Ben had time to go to the post office and fill out a change of address form.
Since the shows been off for a few weeks now and I've had time to think about it, I think The Island is now in a cold climate, maybe somewhere near northern Alaska, since it seems like it can travel through the center of the earth, because it can do anything it wants to, but that would be too predictable so that probably isn't true.
I'm just glad the shows season actually ended with some answers... But, how are are the people involved in the show like the camera men and the producers going to find The Island if the Oceanic Six can't even find it?